Lady Trappers Fall To Casper, Rebound Against Gillette

After a loss to Casper College last week, the Northwest College’s Lady Trapper basketball team bounced back with a win over Gillette College on Saturday.

NWC’s conference record now stands at 4-2, with an overall record of 16-6.

CASPER 73, NWC 60Heading into the Jan. 24 game, the hosting Lady Thunderbirds were undefeated in the conference and 18-2 overall.

At the end of the first quarter, Casper led 19-15, but the Lady Trappers fought back in the second quarter to tie the game at 34 heading into halftime.

In the third quarter, Northwest College outscored Casper 21-20 to take a one-point lead going into the final quarter of play, 55-54.

“But we let them go on an 8-0 run to start the fourth quarter,” said NWC head coach Janis Beal, adding, “On their home court, against a No. 1 team, we can’t have those lapses where we let them kind of go on that big of a run.”

Casper won 73-60.

“Overall, it was a step in the right direction ...,” said Beal.

She added, “we played with a lot better energy — just played harder than we did the previous week against Miles [Community College],” said Beal. “I was glad to see that change. Thought we took care of the ball a little better against Casper — which is huge.”

Dani McManamen led the team with 14 points.

“I thought that Dani played really well. She attacked the basket and got some scoring for us,” Beal said.

Julynne da Silva Sa also scored in double digits with 12.

“[da Silva Sa] played really well in the post. Casper has a really big girl also and it was kind of a chess match,” Beal said. “She was being physical and finishing shots.”

Kira Marlow netted nine points, while Dallas Petties led on the boards with eight, all defensive.

As a team, the Lady Trappers shot 41.5 percent from the field, 42.9 percent at the arc and 83.3 percent from the free throw line.

Casper College shot 42.2 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from the 3-point line and 50 percent from the free throw line.

After last week’s competition, Casper College leads the conference with a 6-0 record and a 20-2 overall record.